PS 2704 
.R9 
1908 
Copy 1 




.M. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 

COPYRIGHT OFFICE. 

No registration of title of this 
article as a preliminary to copyright 
protection has been found. 



-orwarded to 1 M^c ^ Division;i'^^»^^-^^- '<?CG 

(PfhrtS j (/ (Date) ' 





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-LJL 




The Runaway Boy 

By 

James Whitcomb Riley 
With Pictures by Ethel Franklin Betts 

Riley Child Verse — Second Series 








Indianapolis 

The Bobbs-Merrill Company 

Publishers 



1^0 & 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 

JAN 25 1909 

OopyrlKiit Entry 


CLASS 


XXCr No. 


COPY 


s. 



Copyright 1887, 1890, 1896, 1898, 1900, 1906 
By JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY 



All rights reser'ved. 



Copyright Office. 
'09 









The Runaway Boy 




THE RUNAWAY BOY 



W 



UNST I sassed my Pa, an' he 
Won't stand that, an' punished me, 
Nen when he was gone that day, 
I slipped out an' runned away. 



I tooked all my copper-cents, 
An' clumbed over our back fence 
In the jimpson-weeds 'at growed 
Ever'where all down the road. 

6i 



Nen I got out there, an' nen 

I runned some — an' runned again 

When I met a man 'at led 

A big cow 'at shooked her head. 

I went down a long, long lane 
Where was little pigs a-play'n'; 
An' a grea'-big pig went "Booh!" 
An' jumped up, an' skeered me too. 

Nen I scampered past, an' they 
Was somebody hollered "Hey!" 
An' I ist looked ever'where, 
An' they was nobody there. 

I want to, but I'm 'fraid to try 
To go back. . . .An' by-an'-by, 
Somepin' hurts my throat inside — 
An' I want my Ma — an' cried. 

Nen' a grea'-big girl come through 
Where's a gate, an' telled me who 
Am I? an' ef I tell where 
My home's at she'll show me there. 

But I couldn't ist but tell 
What's my name; an' she says well, 
An' she tooked me up an' says 
She know where I live, she guess. 
62 



Nen she telled me hug wite close 
Round her neck! — an' off she goes 
Skippin' -^up the street! An' nen 
Purty soon I'm home again. 

An' my Ma, when she kissed me, 
Kissed the big girl too, an' she 
Kissed me — ef I p'omise shore 
I won't run away no more! 




M 






\h 





THE LAND OF USED-TO-BE 

y^ND Where's the Land of Used-to-be, does little 
/ \ baby wonder? 

-^ -^Oh, we will clap a magic saddle over "Pop- 

um's" knee 
And ride away around the world, and in and out 
and under 
The whole of all the golden sunny Summertime 
and see. 

Leisurely and lazy-like we'll jostle on our journey. 
And let the pony bathe his hooves and cool them 
in the dew. 
As he sidles down the shady way and lags along the 
ferny 
And green grassy edges of the lane we travel 
through. 

64 



And then we'll canter on to catch the bubble of the 
thistle 
As it bumps among the butterflies and glimmers 
down the sun, 
To leave us laughing, all content to hear the robin 
whistle 
Or guess what Katydid is saying little Katy's done. 

And pausing here a minute, where we hear the 
squirrel chuckle 
As he darts from out the underbrush and scampers 
up the tree. 
We will gather buds and locust-blossoms, leaves and 
honeysuckle. 
To wreathe around our foreheads, riding into 
Used-to-be ; — 

For here's the very rim of it that we go swinging 
over — 
Don't you hear the Fairy bugles, and the tinkle of 
the bells. 
And see the baby-bumblebees that tumble in the 
clover 
And dangle from the tilted pinks and tipsy pim- 
pernels? 



67 



And don't you see the merry faces of the daffodillies, 
And the jolly Johnny-jump-ups, and the buttercups 
a-glee, 
And the low, lolling ripples ring around the water- 
lilies? — 
All greeting us with laughter, to the Land of 
Used-to-be! 

And here among the blossoms of the blooming vines 
and grasses, 
With a haze forever hanging in a sky forever 
blue. 
And with a breeze from over-seas to kiss us as it 
passes. 
We will romp around forever as the airy Elfins do! 

For all the elves of earth and air are swarming here 
together — 
The prankish Puck, King Oberon, and Queen 
Titania too; 
And dear old Mother Goose herself, as sunny as the 
weather, 
Comes dancing down the dewy walks to welcome 
me and you! 



68 




THE BOYS' CANDIDATE 



LAS' time 'at Uncle Sidney come, 
He bringed a watermelon home — 
An' half the boys in town 
Come taggin' after him. — An' he 
Says, when we et it, — ''Gracious me! 
'S the boy-house fell down?" 

69 



LITTLE ORPHANT AXXIE 

LITTLE Orphant Annie's come to our house to 
stay. 
An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' bresh 
the crumbs away, 
An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the 

hearth, an' sweep, 
An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her 

board-an'-keep; 
An' all us other childern, when the supper-things is 

done, 
We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun 
A-list'nin' to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about, 
An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you 
Ef you 
Don't 

Watch 
Out! 
70 



Onc't they was a little boy wouldn't say his prayers, — ■ 
So when he went to bed at night, away up stairs. 
His Mammy heerd him holler, an' his Daddy heerd 

him bawl, 
An' when they turn't the kivvers down, he wasn't 

there at all! 
An' they seeked him in the rafter-room, an' cubby- 
hole, an' press. 
An' seeked him up the chimbly-flue, an' ever'wheres, 

I guess ; 
But all they ever found was thist his pants an' round- 
about: — 
An' the Gobble-uns'll git you 
Ef you 
Don't 

Watch 
Out! 

An' one time a little girl 'ud alius laugh an' grin, 
An' make fun of ever'one, an' all her blood an' kin; 
An' onc't, when they was "company," an' ole folks 

was there. 
She mocked 'em an' shocked 'em, an' said she didn't 

care! 
An' thist as she kicked her heels, an' turn't to run an' 

hide. 
They was two great big Black Things a-standin' by 

her side, 

72 



An' they snatched her through the ceilin' 'fore she 

knowed what she's about! 
An' the Gobble-uns'U git you 
Ef you 
Don't 

Watch 
Out! 

An' little Orphant Annie says when the blaze is blue, 
An' the lamp-wick sputters, an' the wind goes woo-oof 
An' you hear the crickets quit, an' the moon is gray. 
An' the lightnin'-bugs in dew is all squenched away, — 
You better mind yer parunts an' yer teachers fond 

an' dear. 
An' churish them 'at loves you, an' dry the orphant's 

tear. 
An' he'p the pore an' needy ones 'at clusters all about, 
Er the Gobble-uns'U git you 
Ef you 
Don't 

Watch 
Out! 



74 




OUR HIRED GIRL 



OUR hired girl, she's 'Lizabuth Ann; 
I An' she can cook best things to eat! 
She ist puts dough in our pie-pan, 
An' pours in somepin' .'at's good and sweet, 
An' nen she salts it all on top 
With cinnamon; an' nen she'll stop 
An' stoop an' slide it, ist as slow, 
In th' old cook-stove, so's 'twon't slop 
An' git all spilled; nen bakes it, so 
It's custard pie, first thing you know! 

An' nen she'll say: 
"Clear out o' my way! 

They's time fer work, an' time fer play! — 
Take yer dough, an' run. Child; run! 
Er I cain't git no cookin' done!" 

7S 



When our hired girl 'tends like she's mad, 

An' says folks got to walk the chalk 
When she's around, er wisht they had, 

I play out on our porch an' talk 
To th' Raggedy Man 'at mows our lawn; 
An' he says ''Whewl" an' nen leans on 

His old crook-scythe, and blinks his eyes 
An' sniffs all round an' says, — "I swawn! 

Ef my old nose don't tell me lies. 

It 'pears like I smell custard-pies!" 
An' nen he'll say, — 

" 'Clear out o' my way! 

They's time fer work an' time fer play! 
Take yer dough, an' run, Child; run! 
Er she cain't git no cookin' done!'" 

Wunst our hired girl, when she 
Got the supper, an' we all et. 

An' it was night, an' Ma an' me 

An' Pa went wher' the "Social" met, — 

An' nen when we come home, an' see 

A light in the kitchen-door, an' we 
Heerd a maccordeun. Pa says "Lan'- 

O'-Gracious! who can her beau be?" 



76 



An' I marched in, an' 'Lizabuth Ann 
Wuz parchin' corn fer the Raggedy Man! 

Better say 
"Clear out o' the way! 
They's time fer work, an' time fer play! 

Take the hint, an' run. Child; run! 

Er we cain't git no courtin done!" 




WHAT LITTLE SAUL GOT FOR CHRISTMAS 

US PARENTS mostly thinks our own's 
The smartest childern out! 
But widder Shelton's little Saul 
Beats all I know about! 
He's weakly-like — in p'int o' health, 

But strong in word and deed 
And heart and head, and snap and spunk, 
And alius in the lead! 

Come honest' by it, fer his Pa — 

Afore he passed away — 
He was a leader — (Lord, I'd like 

To hear him preach to-day!) 
He led his flock; he led in prayer 

Fer spread o' Peace — and when 
Nothin' but War could spread it, he 

Was first to lead us then! 

80 




V 



1^ 






»^V > 



So little Saul has grit to take 

Things jes as they occur; 
And sister Shelton's proud o' him 

As he is proud o' her! 
And when she "got up" — jes fer him 

And little playmates all — 
A Chris'mus-tree, — they ever'one 

Was there but little Saul. — 

Pore little chap was sick in bed 

Next room; and Doc was there, 
And said the childern might file past, 

But go right back to where 
The tree was, in the settin'-room. 

And Saul jes laid and smiled — 
Ner couldn't nod, ner wave his hand, 

It hurt so — Bless the child! 

And so they left him there with Doc — 

And warm tear of his Ma's. .... 
Then — suddent-like — high over all 

Their laughture and applause — 
They heerd, — "I don't care what you git 

On yer old Chris'mus-tree, 
'Cause Fm got somepin' you all haint,— 

Fm got the pleurisy!" 



S.'? 




NAUGHTY CLAUDE 



WHEN Little Claude was naughty wunst 
At dinner-time, an' said 
He won't say ''Thank you' to his Ma, 
She maked him go to bed 
An' stay two hours an' not git up, — 

So when the clock struck Two, 
Nen Claude says, — "Thank you, Mr. Clock, 
I'm much obleeged to you!" 

84 



LITTLE MANDY'S CHRISTMAS-TREE 

LITTLE Mandy and her Ma 
'S porest folks you ever saw! — 
Lived in porest house in town, 
Where the fence 'uz all tore down. 

And no front-door steps at all — 
1st a' old box 'g'inst the wall; 
And no door-knob on the door 
Outside. — My! but they 'uz pore! 

Wuz no winder-shutters on, 
And some of the winders gone. 
And where they 'uz broke they'd pas'e 
1st brown paper 'crost the place. 

Tell you! when it's winter there, 

And the snow ist ever'where, 

Little Mandy's Ma she say 

'Spec' they'll freeze to death some day. 

Wunst my Ma and me — when we 
Be'n to church, and's goin' to be 
Chris'mus purty soon, — we went 
There — like the Committee sent. 



And-sir! when we're in the door, 
Wuz no carpet on the floor, 
And no fire — and heels-and-head 
Little Mandy's tucked in bed! 

And her Ma telled my Ma she 
Got no coffee but ist tea, 
And fried mush — and's all they had 
Sence her health broke down so bad. 

Nen Ma hug and hold me where 
Little Mandy's layin' there; 
And she kiss her, too, and nen 
Mandy kiss my Ma again. 

And my Ma she telled her we 
Goin' to have a Chris'mus-Tree, 
At the Sund'y School, 'at's fer 
All the childern, and fer her. 

Little Mandy think — nen she 
Say, 'What is a Chris'mus-Tree?" . 
Nen my Ma she gived her Ma 
Somepin' 'at I never saw. 

And say she must take it, — and 
She ist maked her keep her hand 
Wite close shut, — and nen she kiss 
Her hand — shut ist like it is. 

86 



Nen we corned away. . . . And nen 
When it's Chris'mus Eve again, 
And all of us childerns be 
At the Church and Chris'mus-Tree — 

And all git our toys and things 
'At old Santy Claus he brings 
And puts on the Tree; — wite where 
The big Tree 'uz standin' there, 

And the things 'uz all tooked down. 
And the childerns, all in town. 
Got their presents — nen we see 
They's a little Chris'mus-Tree 

Wite behind the big Tree — so 
We can't see till nen, you know, — 
And it's all ist loaded down 
With the purtiest things in town! 

And the teacher smile and say: 
''This-here Tree 'at's hid away 
It's marked 'Little Mandy's Tree.'— 
Little Mandy! Where is she?" 

Nen nobody say a word. — 
Stillest place you ever heard! — 
Till a man tiptoe up where 
Teacher's still a-waitin' there. 

89 



Nen the man he whispers, so 
1st the Teacher hears, you know. 
Nen he tiptoe back and go 
Out the big door — ist as slow! 



Little Mandy, though, she don't 
Answer — and Ma say "she won't 
Never, though each year they'll be 
'Little Mandy's Chris'mus-Tree' 

Fer pore childern" — my Ma says — 
And Committee say they guess 
"Little Mandy's Tree" 'uU be 
Bigger than the other Tree! 




jf^' 



90 




C.Q.C 



THE LAND OF THUS-AND-SO 



66 



H 



OW would Willie like to go 



To the Land of Thus-and-So? 

Everything is proper there — 
All the children comb their hair 
Smoother than the fur of cats, 
Or the nap of high silk hats; 
Every face is clean and white 
As a lily washed in light; 
Never vaguest soil or speck 
Found on forehead, throat or neck; 
Every little crimpled ear, 
In and out, as pure and clear 
As the cherry-blossom's blow 
In the Land of Thus-and-So. 



91 



"Little boys that never fall 
Down the stair, or cry at all — 
Doing nothing to repent, 
Watchful and obedient; 
Never hungry, nor in haste — 
Tidy shoe-strings always laced; 
Never button rudely torn 
From its fellows all unworn; 
Knickerbockers always new — 
Ribbon, tie, and collar, too; 
Little watches, worn like men, 
Always promptly half-past ten — 
Just precisely right, you know, 
For the Land of Thus-and-So! 

"And the little babies there 
Give no one the slightest care — 
Nurse has not a thing to do 
But be happy and sigh 'Boo!' 
While Mamma just nods, and knows 
Nothing but to doze and doze : 
Never litter round the grate; 
Never lunch or dinner late; 
Never any household din 
Peals without or rings within — 
Baby coos nor laughing calls 
On the stairs or through the halls — 
Just Great Hushes to and fro 
Pace the Land of Thus-and-so! 



"Oh! the Land of Thus-and-So!— 
Isn't it delightful, though?" 
"Yes," lisped Willie, answering me 
Somewhat slow and doubtfully — 
"Must be awful nice, but I 
Ruther wait till by-and-by 
'Fore I go there — maybe when 
I be dead I'll go there then. — 
But" — the troubled little face 
Closer pressed in my embrace — 
"Le's don't never ever go 
To the Land of Thus-and-So!" 





AT AUNTY'S HOUSE 



ONE time, when we'z at Aunty's house- 
'Way in the country! — where 
They's ist but woods — an' pigs, an' cow^s- 
An' all's outdoors an' air! — 
An' orchurd-swing; an' churry-trees — 
An' churries in 'em! — Yes, an' these- 
Here redhead birds steals all they please, 

An' tetch 'em ef you dare! — 
W'y, wunst, one time, when we wuz there, 
We et out on the porch! 

94 



Wite where the cellar-door wuz shut 

The table wuz ; an' I 
Let Aunty set by me an' cut 

My vittuls up — an' pie. 
'Tuz awful funny! — I could see 
The redheads in the churry-tree, 
An' beehives, where you got to be 

So keerful, goin' by; — 
An' "Comp'ny" there an' all! — an' we — 
We et out on the porch! 

An' I ist et p'surves an' things 

'At Ma don't 'low me to — 
An' chicken-gizzurds — (don't like wings 

Like Parunts does! do you?) 
An' all the time the wind blowed there, 
An' I could feel it in my hair, 
An' ist smell clover everwhtxtl — 

An' a' old redhead flew 
Purt'-nigh wite over my high-chair, 
When we et on the porchi 



95 



LITTLE JOHNTS'S CHRIS'MUS 

WE got it up a-purpose, jes fer little Johnts, 
you know ; 
His mother was so pore an' all, an' had 
to manage so — 
Jes bein' a War-widder, an' her pension mighty slim, 
She'd take in weavin', er work out, er anything, fer 
him ! 

An' little Johnts was puny-like, but law, the nerve he 

had!— 
You'd want to kindo' pity him, but couldn't, very 

bad, — 
His pants o' army-blanket an' his coat o' faded blue 
Kep' hintin' of his father, like, an' pity wouldn't do! 

So we collogued together, onc't, one winter-time, 'at 

we — 
Jes me an' mother an' the girls, an' Wilse, John-Jack 

an' Free — 
Would jine an' git up little Johnts, by time 'at 

Chris'mus come. 
Some sort o' doin's, don't you know, 'at would 

su'prise him some. 

96 



An' so, all on the quiet, Mother she turns in an' gits 
Some blue-janes — cuts an' makes a suit; an' then sets 

down an' knits 
A pair o' little galluses to go 'long with the rest — 
An' putts in a red-flannen back, an' buckle on the 

vest. — 

The little feller'd be'n so much around our house, 

you see, 
An' be'n sich he'p to her an' all, an' handy as could be, 
'At Mother couldn't do too much fer little Johnts — 

No, Sir! 
She ust to jes declare 'at ''he was meat-an'-drink to 

her!" 

An' Piney, Lide, an' Madaline they watched their 

chance an' rid 
To Fountaintown with Lijey's folks; an' bought a 

book, they did, 
O' fairy tales, with pictur's in; an' got a little pair 
O' red-top boots 'at John-Jack said he'd be'n a-pricin' 

there. 

An' Lide got him a little sword, an' Madaline, a 

drum; 
An' shootin'-crackers — Lawzy-day! an' they're so 

dangersome! 



99 



An' Pinev, ever' time the rest 'ud buy some other 

toy, 
She'd take an' turn in then an' buy more candy fer 

the boy! 

"Well,'' thinks-says-I, when they got back, ''your 

pocketbooks is dry!" — 
But little Johnts was there hisse'f that afternoon, 

so I — 
Well, all of us kep' mighty mum, tel we got him 

away 
By tellin' him be shore an' come to-morry — Chris'- 

mus Day — 

An' fetch his mother 'long with him! An' how he 

scud acrost 
The fields — his towhead, in the dusk, jes like a 

streak o' frost! — 
His comfert fiuttern as he run — an' old Tige, don't 

you know, 
A-jumpin' high fer rabbits an' a ploughin' up the 

snow ! 

It must 'a' be'n 'most fen that night afore we got 

to bed — 
With Wilse an' John-Jack he'pin' us; an' Freeman 

in the shed, 



lOO 



An' Lide out with the lantern while he trimmed the 

Chris'mus-Tree 
Out of a little scrub-oak-top 'at suited to a ''T'M 

All night I dreamp' o' hearin' things a-skulkin' 

round the place — 
An' "Old Kriss," with his whiskers off, an' freckles 

on his face — 
An' reindeers, shaped like shavin'-hosses at the 

cooper-shop, 
A-stickin' down the chimbly, with their heels out at 

the topi 

By time 'at Mother got me up 'twas plum' daylight 

an' more — 
The front yard full o' neighbers all a-crowdin' rouna 

the door. 
With Johnts's mother leadin'; yes — an' little Johnts 

hisse'f. 
Set up on Freeman's shoulder, like a jug up on the 

she'f! 

Of course I can't describe it when they all got in 
to where 

We'd conjered up the Chris'mus-Tree an' all the 
fixin's there! — 

Fer all the shouts o' laughture — clappin' hands, an' 
crackin' jokes, 

Was heap o' kissin' goin' on amongst the women- 
folks :— 



Fer, lo-behold-ye! there they had that young-un! — 

An' his chin 
A-wobblin'-like ; — an', shore enough, at last he 

started in — ^ 
An' — sich another bellerin', in all my mortal days, 
I never heerd, er 'spect to hear, in woe's appointed 

ways ! 

An' Mother grabs him up an' says: "It's more'n he 

can bear — 
It's all too suddent fer the child, an' too su'prisin'! 

— There!" 
"Oh, no it ain't" — sobbed little Johnts — "I ain't 

su'prised — but Fm 
A-cryin' 'cause I watched you all, an' knowed it all 

the time!" 




I02 



THE BEAR STORY 

THAT ALEX "1ST MAKED UP HIS-OWX-SE'f" 

W'Y, wunst they wuz a Little Boy went out 
In the woods to shoot a Bear. So, he 
went out 
'Way in the grea'-big woods — he did. — An' he 
Wuz goin' along — an' goin' along, you know, 
An' purty soon he heerd somepin' go ^^JFooh!" — 
1st thataway — "Woo-ooh!" An' he wuz skeered, 
He wuz. An' so he runned an' clumbed a tree — 
A grea'-big tree, he did, — a sicka-more tree. 
An' nen he heerd it ag'in: an' he looked round. 
An' 't'uz a Bear! — a grea-big shore-nuff Bear! — 
No: 't'uz two Bears, it wuz — two grea'-big Bears — 
One of 'em wuz — ist one'z a grea-big Bear. — 
But they ist boff went ''PVooh!" — An' here they come 
To climb the tree an' git the Little Boy 
An' eat him up! 

An' nen the Little Boy 
He 'uz skeered worse'n ever! An' here come 

103 



The grea'-big Bear a-climbin' th' tree to git 

The Little Boy an' eat him up — Oh, no! — 

It 'uzn't the Big Bear 'at dumb the tree — 

It 'uz the Little Bear. So here he come 

Climbin' the tree — an' climbin' the tree! Nen when 

He git wite clos't to the Little Boy, w'y nen 

The Little Boy he ist pulled up his gun 

An' shot the Bear, he did, an' killed him dead! 

An' nen the Bear he failed clean on down out 

The tree — away clean to the ground, he did — 

Spling-splung! he failed plum' down, an' killed him, 

too! 
An' lit wite side o' where the Big Bear's at. 

An' nen the Big Bear's awful mad, you bet! — 
'Cause — 'cause the Little Boy he shot his gun 
An' killed the Little Bear. — 'Cause the Big Bear 
He — he 'uz the Little Bear's Papa. — An' so here 
He come to climb the big old tree an' git 
The Little Boy an' eat him up! An' when 
The Little Boy he saw the grea-big Bear 
A-comin', he 'uz badder skeered, he wuz. 
Than any time! An' so he think he'll climb 
Up higher — 'way up higher in the tree 
Than the old Bear kin climb, you know. — But he — 
He can't climb higher 'an old Bears kin climb, — 
'Cause Bears kin climb up higher in the trees 
Than any little Boys in all the Wo-r-r-ld! 

104 



An' so here come the grea'-big Bear, he did, — 
A-climbin' up — an' up the tree, to git 
The Little Boy an' eat him up! An' so 
The Little Boy he clumbed on higher, an' higher, 
An' higher up the tree — an' higher — an' higher — 
An' higher'n iss-here house is! — An' here come 
Th' old Bear — clos'ter to him all the time! — 
An' nen — first thing you know, — when th' old Big 

Bear 
Wuz wite clos't to him — nen the Little Boy 
1st jabbed his gun wite in the old Bears mouf 
An' shot an' killed him dead! — No; I f ergot, — 
He didn't shoot the grea'-big Bear at all — 
'Cause they 'uz no load in the gun^ you know — 
'Cause when he shot the Little Bear, w'y, nen 
No load 'uz anymore nen in the gun! 

But th' Little Boy clumbed higher up, he did — 

He clumbed lots higher — an' on up higher — an' higher 

An' higher — tel he ist can't climb no higher, 

'Cause nen the limbs 'uz all so little, 'way 

Up in the teeny-weeny tip-top of 

The tree, they'd break down wiv him ef he don't 

Be keerful! So he stop an' think: An' nen 

He look around — An here come th' old Bear! 

An' so the Little Boy make up his mind 
He's got to ist git out o' there some way! — 

T07 



'Cause here come the old Bear! — so clos't, his bref's 

Purt' nigh so's he kin feel how hot it is 

Ag'inst his bare feet — ist like old "Ring's" href 

When he's ben out a-huntin' an's all tired. 

So when th' old Bear's so clos't — the Little Boy 

Ist gives a grea'-big jump fer 'nother tree — 

No! — no he don't do that! — I tell you what 

The Little Boy does: — W'y, nen — w'y, he — Oh, yes- 

The Little Boy he finds a hole up there 

'Afs in the tree — an' climbs in there an' hides — 

An' nen th' old Bear can't find the Little Boy 

At all! — But, purty soon th' old Bear finds 

The Little Boy's gun 'at's up there — 'cause the gun 

It's too tall to tooked wiv him in the hole. 

So, when the old Bear fin' the gun, he knows 

The Little Boy's ist hid 'round somers there, — 

An' th' old Bear 'gins to snuff an' sniff around. 

An' sniff an' snuff around — so's he kin find 

Out where the Little Boy's hid at. — An' nen — nen — 

Oh, yes! — W'y, purty soon the old Bear climbs 

'Way out on a big limb — a grea'-long limb, — 

An' nen the Little Boy climbs out the hole 

An' takes his ax an' chops the limb off! . . . Nen 

The old Bear falls k-splunge! clean to the ground 

An' bust an' kill hisse'f plum' dead, he did! 

An' nen the Little Boy he git his gun 

An' 'menced a-climbin' down the tree ag'in — 

io8 



No! — no, he didn't git his gun — 'cause when 
The Bear failed, nen the gun failed, too — An' broked 
It all to pieces, too! — An' nicest gun! — 
His Pa ist buyed it! — An' the Little Boy 
1st cried, he did; an' went on climbin' down 
The tree — an' climbin' down — an' climbin' down! — 
An'-sir! when he 'uz purt'-nigh down, — w'y, nen 
The old Bear he jumped up ag'in! — an' he 
Ain't dead at all — ist 'tendin thataway, 
So he kin git the Little Boy an' eat 
Him up! But the Little Boy he 'uz too smart 
To climb clean down the tree. — An' the old Bear 
He can't climb up the tree no more — 'cause when 
He fell, he broke one of his — he broke all 
His legs! — an' nen he couldnt climb! But he 
Ist won't go 'way an' let the Little Boy 
Come down out of the tree. An' the old Bear 
Ist growls 'round there, he does — ist growls an' goes 
"Wooh! — Woo-oohr all the time! An' Little Boy 
He haf to stay up in the tree — all night — 
An' 'thout no supper neether! — On'y they 
Wuz apples on the tree! — An' Little Boy 
Et apples — ist all night — an' cried — an' cried! 
Nen when 't'uz morning th' old Bear went "Woohr 
Ag'in, an' try to climb up in the tree 
An' git the Little Boy. — But he can't 
Climb t'save his soul, he can't! — An' oh! he's mad! — 
He ist tear up the ground! an' go "Woo-ooh!" 

109 



An' — Oh, yes! — purty soon, when morning's come 

All light — so's you kin see, you know, — w'y, nen 

The old Bear finds the Little Boy's gun, you know, 

'At's on the ground.- — (An' it ain't broke at all — 

I ist said that!) An' so the old Bear think 

He'll take the gun an' shoot the Little Boy: — 

But Bears they don't know much 'bout shootin' guns; 

So when he go to shoot the Little Boy, 

The old Bear got the other end the gun 

Ag'in' his shoulder, 'stid o' th'other end — 

So when he try to shoot the Little Boy, 

It shot the Bear, it did — an' killed him dead! 

An' nen the Little Boy dumb down the tree 

An' chopped his old woolly head off: — Yes, an' killed 

The other Bear ag'in, he did — an' killed 

All bojf the bears, he did — an' tuk 'em home 

An' cooked 'em, too, an' et 'em! 

—An' that's all. 




H71-80 1 



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